LASER SKIN RESURFACING
Chemical Peels/Dermabrasion
INTRODUCTION: Various methods have been devised over the years to minimize fine facial wrinkles, accident or acne scars. A facelift or blepharoplasty alone cannot remove wrinkles and are especially inadequate for the fine wrinkles around the mouth, eyes and forehead. The chemical peel, dermabrasion and laser skin resurfacing procedures were devised to minimize these surface irregularities. The key words here are minimize or diminish, as none of these procedures can remove all of the lines, marks or surface discolorations.
 All three procedures remove the outer scarred or sun damaged skin, attempting to leave the patient with a smoother and more youthful appearance. The chemical peel procedure consists of the application of a medical mixture to the treated skin, which creates a chemical burn. In the dermabrasion procedure, the offensive outer layer is instead mechanically removed with a bur in a "sanding" motion. In the newer methods of laser skin resurfacing, various lasers can be employed to vaporize the outer layer of skin and induce a tightening of the remaining skin. The lasers tend to give the surgeon more precise control of the treatment depth and are the preferred method today in most instances.
The result of the treatment is a general tightening of the skin with obliteration of many of the fine wrinkles and scars while making the deeper wrinkles and scars less noticeable. In patients with excessive wrinkling or scarring, a repeat procedure may be desirable, but complete obliteration of all lines, wrinkles or acne marks will not be possible in any patient.
BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS
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79 year old (now 81) female with laxity and sun damage who had a facelift, endoscopic forehead lift, upper and lower blepharoplasties plus a full face resurfacing, all in one surgery. |
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Juris Bunkis, MD, FACS
email:bunkis@ocps.com
Orange County Plastic Surgery
30212 Tomas, Suite 275
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
Phone: (866) 457-1293
Fax: (949) 888-9724
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